Potter's Ground

Well now, this is not what I expected. This certainly is a mixed bag of genres, and dare I say I believe it mixed pretty well.

This is probably the type of movie I've been waiting for: an action adventure fantasy western horror drama thriller. That might be a mouth full, but this film really surprised me. The film features really good performances, good dialogue, good cinematography, and an eerie and foreboding atmosphere. We have cowboys, Indians, good guys, bad guys, skin walkers, monsters... I guess this won't satisfy everyone's palate, but I was thoroughly entertained.

We follow three officials in search of pieces of an amulet that - according to legend - contains a map to a city of gold. These pieces are scattered, and the only person who knows where they are, is Doloroas, whose ancestors created the amulet, so she's along for the ride as well. On their journey, they stumble across more unsavory characters than they can handle, and their every move is a fight for survival.

I love treasure hunting movies. Now add the Western adventure element and I'm in heaven! I really loved this. If you're looking for an old-fashioned Western movie, though, this is not it. This is a very different kind of Western, so you're either going to love it or hate it.

Would I watch it again? Yes.

Potter's Ground is one of the more interesting indies I've viewed lately and I think that its deserving of attention. The story is a simple one, which works for it as much as it works against it but it undoubtedly manages to deliver on the fun.

With a cast of mostly unknown actors and a crew of people you have never heard of, we should all appreciate that something was put out that is clearly punching above its weight class. The action works when it wants to, the jokes mostly land, and the movie flows at a mostly even pace that makes it fly by and never bores.

My only complaint would be the idea of the monsters in the world. They are alluded to on more that one occasion when referencing a supposedly terrifying location that they must travel to and you even get to catch a glimpse one or two times in the movie, but they are lacking everywhere else. This isn't necessarily a big problem, but it feels at times like Potter's Ground would like to be a monster movie but is scared to give in, ultimately building excitement for something that never comes. If not for this minor disappointment I would probably rate the movie 8.

Either way it isn't a bad find on Amazon and is worth the rental if you find yourself in search of easy entertainment.

Yes, it is not the best western movie I've seen and in a way it doesn't entirely match its description of a Western, Drama, Thriller.

It was certainly dramatic, 100% it had a thriller twist to it and was it's set as a western, but what you don't know is the real twist in the tail - at the end. It was actually almost the lowest point of the film for me.

I checked out the actors' bios and it appears that these people have hardly worked on set - at all. Which I find truly amazing as some of the work was simply excellent.

The clichés and regular quips were corny to the max, but so well delivered. Brilliant. Isaiah Stratton (lead), his cohort Scott Crain, Todd Bush and Katharine Franco all deserve bigger and better roles in the future.

If you are prepared to case aside any concerns and simply go with the flow with this film, I feel confident you will like it. I sure did.

It's not worth your time. Because it was a really bad movie.

Shockingly well done if you know what the budget was (like practically nothing). It's fun and entertaining to watch but if you're looking for something with profound meaning then this isn't it. Some of the visuals are totally top shelf. Looking forward to the next project from this posse.